Housing Overhaul, Cannabis Tax Relief, and a Fight Over City Priorities

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors pushed through a sweeping set of housing and land use changes on Dec. 9, 2025, while extending a decade-long tax break for the struggling legal cannabis industry—exposing a widening rift over how the city should balance budget pressures against economic development. The meeting also revealed new legislative fronts on immigration protections, public bathrooms, and tenant rights.

• Family Zoning Plan clears final hurdle, 6–4, implementing citywide planning and zoning changes to boost housing near transit.

• Cannabis business tax suspension extended to 2035, with supporters citing illicit market competition and opponents warning of budget impacts.

• Rent-control alternative to inclusionary fees advances unanimously, offering developers a new path to build rental housing.

• Supportive housing investments approved for 230 units at two Tenderloin-area sites under the state's Homekey Plus program.

• Potrero HOPE SF moves forward as Board delegates street vacation authority to expedite redevelopment.

• New legislation introduced to block federal commandeering of city property and to establish minimum public bathroom standards.

The Board voted 8–2 on first reading to extend San Francisco's suspension of its cannabis business tax through Dec. 31, 2035—a full decade longer than the current moratorium. The measure exposed a fault line between supervisors who see the legal industry as a public safety tool and those who say the city can't afford to forgo revenue during a budget crisis.